In a large, non-stick pan, fry all raw vegetables and herbs until caramelized, on medium-high heat, stirring often and watching carefully. Take care not to break the pepper. Vegetables should be browned, some, and somewhat soft. Pan drippings should be a golden-rosy brown.

Retrieve the pepper and place inside bag. Set aside.

Pour some of the water into the hot pan to loosen all the drippings and create a rich broth. Pour entire contents of pan into a large stock pot (12 quart or more). Scrape pan well, to get all the goodie.

Add the rest of the ingredients, including bagged pepper, and bring to boil. Simmer, stirring constantly, for at least an hour. Enjoy with cornbread, sour cream, cheddar cheese, etc.

Well, Tiff, feeling bad about not knowing, which is totally out of character for me, I have googled it, and learned: It is Italian for veggie soup. No kidding. Whatever you want to throw in, just go for it. It can be vegetarian, with meat broth, or with meat, thick like stew, or “brothy” [google’s word!] as mine is, above. It can have, and usually has, pasta, but also can have rice. The official bean is not the cannellini that I have chosen, but the “borlotti” bean. Too bad…

However, I got one essential correct, according to google: “Like many Italian dishes, minestrone was probably originally not a dish made for its own sake. In other words, one did not gather the ingredients of minestrone with the intention of making minestrone. The ingredients were pooled from ingredients for other dishes, often side dishes or contorni plus whatever was left over…” The word, itself, is derived from the word for “serve” or “minister”. In other words, “here it is, take it or leave it, it’s what we’re having for lunch.” 🙂

It’s Italian for “musgo stew” which is made by scanning the fridge and saying, “This mus-go, this mus-go, and this mus-go,” and putting it all in a large pot, adding water, and voila!

And the price is SO right, at this time of year! We always buy a couple of them after December, when they are marked down, and almost always smoke ours. We love turkey, too, but just not 40 days in a row. Ha.